The One Where My Dad Hangs Up On Guy Lafleur

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone!

In the spirit of Christmas, since I haven't had a chance to get a post up here lately, because of all the Christmas 'stuff' I've been doing, I figured I'd share one of my favourite Christmas stories.

The one where my dad hangs up on Guy Lafleur.

Yes, Guy Lafleur, the former hockey star of the Montreal Canadiens.

Called my dad.

And dad blew him off, over the phone.

Yeah.

For you regular readers, this is an old post, so I apologize if you've already seen it.

For you new visitors to the Korner, I hope you'll enjoy this story of a Christmas surprise gone terribly WRONG!


The Christmas Surprise that Backfired on Me!


Hey all!

Being that it's Christmas (for me it is, otherwise, insert holiday of your choice here) I thought it was a good time to share my Dad/Guy Lafleur story.

I originally sent this out as part of an email to family & friends shortly after dad died. Hard to believe it was already over 3 yrs ago!


Shortly after finding out dad was sick, I started to plan a Christmas surprise.

I wanted to do something really "special" for him. I'm the type of person who tries to put some thought into what someone might actually LIKE to receive, so not knowing what the next year might bring, I wanted to give him something extra special, something unique that Christmas.

So, I got it in my head to give him a phone call from Guy Lafleur.

Those of you who knew my dad, you know exactly what that would have meant to him.

For those of you who didn't know him, I could say, "just imagine your all time favourite sports hero', and you would have what that icon on ice meant to my father.

But let me also give you a bit of background ... all my life dad was a Habs fan, and Guy Lafleur was definitely "the man".

I was told many times that the night I took my first steps, dad was here in Halifax watching Guy play at the Metro Centre.

Later that night, he managed to get his autograph at the hotel. I'm still not quite sure of which event he was most proud ... my first steps, or that autograph lol.

I can remember he used to have these Habs team pictures, torn off from hockey calendars over the years, hanging in the basement...


Anyway, when my wonderful father in law heard of my 'operation xmas call' mission, he provided me with the name of the PR Rep for the Canadiens, so I gave her a call and explained that I wanted to give my dad a phone call from Guy Lafleur for Christmas.

She said she couldn't make any promises, but that she'd pass the message along to him.

I told my mother about this surprise, and asked her not to mention anything to dad.

BIG mistake!


The day we arrived home for Christmas vacation, dad had a surprise for me.

That afternoon, mom had run out to the store for maybe 20 min, and while she was gone, the phone rang.

Dad didn't recognize the number, and because he was quite sick at the time, didn't really want to be getting on the phone anyway, but he it picked up to find someone who was "supposedly" Guy Lafleur on the other end.

Knowing that Montreal hadn't played very well their last few games, dad thought it was just someone in the family or one of his friends who was playing a joke on him.

So, dad chatted politely for a couple of minutes, then said abruptly, "Well, I've gotta go."

And he HUNG UP!

On GUY LAFLEUR! HIS IDOL!


He only found out later, much to his surprise and absolute DISMAY, it really was Guy Lafleur on the phone!

When mom got home he told her about the phone call and she said "Uh...Jim... that really WAS Guy Lafleur. Kimberly arranged that phone call as a surprise present for you".

Poor Dad!

It's not often I've seen him REALLY disappointed, but that was definitely one of those times.

I tried to get in touch with the PR lady again, to explain what happened, but being Christmas and all, I didn't have any luck.

Even though the surprise sort of backfired on me, I know he was still proud to have received that phone call ... despite the fact that he didn't realize at the time that he really was talking to his longtime idol.

It was always his first reply when asked that year "so what did you get for xmas? lol

But more importantly, I know that he was proud of me, for making the extra effort to try give him something memorable, and for making what turned out to be his last Christmas, a pretty cool one.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

And careful how you answer the phone this season, it could be someone you least expect on the other end of the line ... in a good way ... not in an overdue bill collector way! ;-)

K.


P.S. The ex told me the other day, that my father in law will apparently be doing an interview with Guy Lafleur sometime in the near future.

He plans on bringing up this story during the interview. If he does, I'll be sure to post an update on what Mr. Lafleur thought of that phone call, where some guy he was giving a 'special phone call' to, decided to hang up on him!

Oops, sorry about that, Mr Lafleur!

Flash Mob Mania!

Despite the fact they've been around since 2003, Flash Mobs (or flashmobs, or flash-mobs) are suddenly taking the world by storm.

For those of you not familiar with the term Flash Mob, let me explain.

Wikipedia defines flash mob as “a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails."

Taken from Flash Mob Wikipedia

We've all been sent a link through email, or over Facebook, that brings up a YouTube video of the latest Flash Mob occurrence. And we all have our favourites.

Well, those of us that LIKE watching Flash Mobs do, anyway.

Last April, I posted about a FM instance at a Farmer's Market in nearby Truro, NS.

It was FANTASTIC! I LOVED it.

Most recently, the city of Halifax joined in the Flash Mob Mania, by organizing an event in the food court of a busy shopping centre.

The Bust A Move initiative was the kick off event to raise awareness and money for a new mammography machine for the local hospital.

You can read more about it HERE.

There are quite a few of these Flash Mob videos out there.

But if I were to pick my all time favourite, it would have to be the one filmed at the train station in Belgium.

Approx. 200 dancers bring Central Station in Antwerp, Belgium to a standstill, during their spontaneous performance to The Sound Of Music's 'Do Re Mi'.

If you haven't seen this yet, WATCH IT.

NOW.

No, I mean, it, right now.

I'll wait.

Isn't that absolutely AWESOME?

Well, I thought so.

Then, there is the all time largest flash mob gathering ever.

Oprah Winfrey's 24Th season kickoff features the Black Eyed Peas, and approx 21,000 dancers who went from 'still as statues' to one big dancing organism.

Although there is some debate as to whether or not it's considered an 'official' Flash Mob, it's still pretty cool.

To see all those people, moving as one, regardless how it all came together, is impressive.

If you haven't seen THAT one yet, you can find it HERE.

I love that chick in front, at the very beginning, who's the only one just givin' 'er!

And I know the minute my mom sees her in this video, she'll be thinking, 'Yup, that could be my daughter, right there.' ;-)

There have also been a number of Flash Mob 'spinoff's', if you will.

I have included one that I thought was creative. And the kids look like they're having a blast.

It's from Fallston High School - Homecoming 2009.

It starts off slow, but be patient, because once they get going ... WHOA!!!

And check out that coach who's leading the cheerleaders.

Is she gettin' into it or WHAT?!?! ;-)

And then, there's what definitely is NOT a Flash Mob, but a tribute to the same Black Eyed Peas song, and known as a 'LipDub'.

This is a video made by 172 students at l'Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

It was done in ONE take.

One continuous, almost flawless (except for the random chick going up the escalator at 1:33-34 lol!), shoot.

They did an AMAZING job!

Congrats to all those who participated in this! It turned out GREAT!

If you haven't seen this one, WATCH! ENJOY!

If this is your first introduction to Flash Mob Mania, and want to see more, simply search 'flash mob' on YouTube, and voila.

If you can't stand these videos, sorry, I don't expect all my interests to be shared by everyone, but guaranteed, there will be at least ONE of you, forwarding one of the links above to a friend.

And possibly MORE than one, walking away singing, 'I got a feelin', that tonight's gonna be a good night ...'

Yeah, sorry 'bout that one too. But serves ya right for reading this first thing in the morning at the office.

Now, it's going to be in your head allll day ;-p

K.

When Doing The Right Thing Sometimes Feels Wrong

I had another interesting adventure tonight.

They seem to follow me, those adventures.


I've been robbed before. Twice.

My apartment was broken into many years ago, and my purse was stolen out of my car only a few years ago.

But I've never actually SEEN anyone attempt to commit a robbery right in front of me.

Until tonight.

That was a first.


After dinner, I dropped the boys off at basketball practice, and headed out to the MomStore.

AKA, Wal-mart.

Gotta love Wal-mart.

And I mean that both on a sincere and a sarcastic level. For so many reasons.


Tonight was relatively painless.

In and out in about 20 min.

As I was walking towards the OUT door, I noticed two things at the same time.

First, was the woman to my right, who was also leaving the store, but pushing her cart towards the IN door.

In a split second, I took in the fact she had a CARTLOAD of stuff, and she was walking with purpose towards that door.

And boxes. I saw lots of boxes. No idea what was in them. But the subconscious immediately registered 'big ticket' items.

I looked at her for no more than a couple of seconds before focusing more closely on the person to my left.

The 'Wal-mart Greeter, and 'Let me check your receipt cause you have a box in your cart that isn't in a bag' person.

Now, I don't know who mans this post in YOUR Wal-mart, but in this particular store, on this particular evening, it was a 'little old lady' type.

With a limp.

I don't say that to be mean, but it's sort of part of the story.


I have seen this woman working there many times.

She was in conversation with a couple of teenage boys as I walked by.

The 'cart full of boxes' woman (from here on known as Cart lady), was walking much faster, and had already reached the door, and was halfway through it before the 'YOU'VE STOLEN SOMETHING!' alarm went off.

Right away, the Wal-mart greeter lady (from here on known as WG lady), went after her. Calling out to her 'Excuse Me'.

Three times she called after her.

Getting louder each time, when by the third, she was SCREAMING across the entrances.

EVERYONE could hear her.

Except Cart lady. She just kept on going. Didn't look back once.

I lost sight of them for a second when the two teenagers the WG lady had been talking to stepped in front of me, and began going after her, and calling after her.

****SIDE NOTE****
Personally, I thought that was a little strange in itself. What could be so important, that they would have to chase after the WG lady, when SHE'S chasing after a potential thief?

So, when I finally got out the door, there was WG lady, holding onto either the cart, or the Cart lady herself, I'm not sure.

What I AM sure of, was the conversation.

WG lady was asking for the receipt, and Cart lady was saying she didn't have time to produce it because her cab was waiting.

Excuse me?

Your cab is waiting?

You're two seconds away from being accused of stealing by pissed off WG lady, who had to limp after you, chasing you down because you completely ignored the warning bells and her screams, and you won't produce the receipt because your cab is waiting?

WTF?!?!?!

Obviously I wasn't the only one who thought that was a lame excuse, as the WG lady was beginning to lose it.

God love 'er, she just kept repeating, 'I need to see your receipt!'

Unfortunately, Cart lady was determined to leave, and WG lady was giving off the 'over my dead body!' vibe.

All of a sudden, Cart lady starts grabbing boxes off the top of the cart pile, and yells 'I'm taking my stuff!'

WG lady tries to take the box back and yells into the crowd, 'Get security!'

This is the moment my brain officially split in two.

One side said, STAY!

The other said, GO - FAST!

I went.

I had no idea where to find 'Security' in Wal-mart, so I made a very gender biased decision, and walked to the two closest guys wearing red Wal-mart shirts.

I told them, 'The Wal-mart lady at the front door needs your help. I think someone may be trying to walk off with a cartload of stuff. She asked for security.'

And honest to god, I got the look.

The one where they first stare at me, then look at each other, then back at me with a 'Um. Security? Um. You want US to do something?' look.

I simply said, 'She needs HELP!' and walked back towards the entrance.

By the time I got back outside (after stopping to say a quick 'Hi' and 'Gotta love Wal-mart') to a neighbour who had seen me (and another person) asking for security) the Cart lady was gone.

The WG lady was about five cars down into the parking lot, with a couple of Wal-mart employees.

She had the cart.

It looked to contain LESS than it did a few minutes before, but there was still quite a bit in it.

Cart lady was nowhere in sight. And WG lady looked PISSED.

I walked over to her and started to say that IF there had been an incident, and they needed anyone who had seen anything, that I had been directly behind them.

I'm not quite sure how much of that thought I actually got out, before she simply walked by me and gave me the hand.

Yup, got the hand, People.

Oh yeah, she was pissed.

So, I left it at that, shook my head, and walked across the parking lot to my car.

On the drive home, I replayed the incident through the brain, and once again thought of that moment where WG lady yelled for someone to get security.

I knew going to get help was the right thing to do, but I also wanted to stay there, in case Cart lady did anything to WG lady.

I don't mean 'did anything' in a 'stab her in the parking lot' kind of way. I just mean that Cart lady was adamant she was leaving - with her stuff. WG lady was just as adamant she was staying.

I was afraid Cart lady might push her down in her attempt to get away, and that's not something you want to see happen to a little old lady who is already sporting a limp.

It was one of those moments where you think, 'Nothing will happen to her', but the minute you walk away to get help, you think 'But what if something happens to her?'

One of those moments when doing the right thing sometimes feels wrong.

And then thinking, she must have gone after her through the parking lot. Could I have done anything to help stop her?

Did she get away with anything? (After seeing the before and after of the cart, my personal guess would be, yes). Could I have helped in stopping her from taking anything if I had stayed? I was 'right there'.

Who knows?

Personally, although I agree with employing people of 'retirement age' as a greeter, I don't agree with them having to chase down potential thieves.

If Wal-mart is going to offer 'security', then post someone at the front entrance/exit, where people with balls the size the their shopping carts will attempt to walk right on out.

Ahhhh Wal-mart. Gotta luv ya!

And there you have it, another one of those 'interesting adventures', and opinions, from the Korner ;-)

K.

Bikinis, Doggies And Thongs ... OH MY!

OK, let me state upfront, this is NOT a post for men.

Sorry.

You males just aren’t going to find anything of interest here.

So you, you, and yes … you … hiding way back in the korner, you may all leave.

If you so choose, feel free to forward this post on to the women in your life, and if they find it of interest, they will inform you if and when they need such product that I’ve chosen to review and share with everyone here.

Yes, this is a product review.

For the Always Thin Flexi-Style® pantyliner.

THIN!

VERY thin! I took one out of the box, and though 'WOW, that's thin.' THEN realized I actually had three of them pressed together. Yeah. Thin.

As I said, gentlemen, you may leave.

Now, for you ladies (and that one man who stayed out of confusion, and the other dude, out of defiance because I asked him to leave), let’s discuss that dreaded monthly period, the protection we use and the underwear it resides in.

Shall we?

OK, so now that I’m fairly confident after that spiel, I will no longer be discussing my period, or exposing my underwear to my male co-workers, or my son’s friends, I can tell you I was only half joking.


A little while ago, I was asked to review the new Always Thin Flexi-Style® liners.

My first thought was ‘Ew. No.’

As I continued reading through the email, the offer became a bit more interesting.

What makes this NEW liner so ‘special’ is that you are able to mold it to any style of underwear you might be wearing at the time.

Bikini, sport, thong … one size fits all.

The Always® people believe so strongly in their new Thin Flexi-style liner, that they were also willing to send me a $10 gift card, to purchase ANY pair of underwear I wanted, to prove their point.


Well now.

New undies.

Ten bucks could get mama a cute pair of undies depending on where the card was from …

So, me being me, I told the marketing rep ‘Sure, send them along.’

CRAP!

NOW, I have to try and figure out how to bare my underwear to the world, in such a way that my mother will still be able to go out in public and will still admit to being my mother ;-).

Sigh.

Here we go …


So, the liner advertises that it will basically mold itself to any pair of undies.

I put it to the test.

It just so happened that on the day the package arrived, a Thursday, so did the exact reason I would need it for. Three days early.

Perfect timing.

Although my drawer is filled with Granny Panties for just this time of the month …

… instead, I happened to be wearing what every girl’s got in her drawer. The more stylish of the Grannie Panty family, the tried and true plain white cotton, bikini cut.

Now here’s the funny thing. Not long before I received the package, I was telling my co-worker about it, and said ‘La Senza, here I come baby!’, having no idea where the gift card may be coming from.

I just happen to like La Senza .

A lot.

And what do you think was on that card I hauled out of my little package?

Oh yeah!

La Senza, Baby!

When I got home after work, and later that evening, I had determined that:

Day 1 of Always Thin Test - Bikini Style – PASSED



Fast forward to Sunday.

This would be day two of the Always Thin Test – Doggie Style

Yes, you know that underwear.

The ones your mom still gets you every Christmas. Or just when she thinks you might be in need of white and pink polka dot underwear with little purple doggies on them.

Yeah. Those.

You’ve got them buried in your drawer. I know you do.


And you! You men who insisted on lurking around.

I WARNED YOU!

Gave you ample opportunity to leave.

Hell, what do I know, maybe you have them buried in YOUR drawer too.


I wasn’t initially planning on Sunday being day two of the test.

I mean come on, People, you’ve SEEN the size of those things!

I know the Always® people have faith in them, but they’re not the ones who would be sitting at a basketball game and then underwear shopping for the afternoon.

Unfortunately, when I stuck my hand in an empty tampon box, I realized I had no choice.

Day two it was.

And ya know what?

Day 2 of the Always Thin Test – Doggie Style – PASSED


NOW came the REAL test.

I had played it relatively safe so far.

The bikini style hadn’t required much fitting. The purple puppies required a bit of folding given the smaller area to work with.

But now, it was time to break out ...

… the thong.

You want a test? I’ll give it a test!

In honour of the holidays, I chose what I thought was a ‘festive’ pair ;-)

Merry Christmas to me. Courtesy of Always®.

Final result, Day 3 of the Always Thin Test – Thong Style – PASSED

I must admit, I was impressed. The product did what it was supposed to, when it was supposed to, and in a variety of ways … as it was supposed to.

What can I say?

Bikinis, Doggies And Thongs ... OH MY!

Thank you Always®, for giving me the opportunity to try your new product, AND for the new pair of festive undies!

Now, for all you faithful male readers who hung around, I’m not sure if I should be flattered or disturbed.

But I figure you’ll now be scarred for life, with the image of my Granny Panties in your brain.

Just remember, we only keep THOSE types of underwear for certain times of the month.

And for every pair of these

that you’ll find in my drawer, you’ll also find a few pair of these …

And if that wasn’t enough to wipe away this entire post from your brain, did you know that in that same drawer, next to those same Granny Panties for those awful days, there’s something like THIS lying next to it.

For those many more good days ;-)

Sorry Always® people, no place for a liner anywhere under there!

And sorry Mom, for this entire post.

On the bright side, it’s one less pair of underwear you have to buy me this Christmas!


K.